Email This

Thank You

Error.

An error has occured and your email has not been sent.
Please try again.

• Invalid email address.

• You can't enter more than 20 emails.

• Seperate multiple addresses with Commas.

• Must enter an email address.

• You must enter the verification code below to send.

• Invalid entry: Please type the verification code again.

Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit
www.djreprints.com

Companies Try to Score
With Athletes Who Blog

Last month executives at shoemaker Adidas AG got a shock when they read the latest blog entry from their star endorser, pro basketball player Gilbert Arenas. He had seen the design of his second Adidas signature shoe -- which had yet to be revealed to the public -- and he wasn't impressed.

"I'm sitting there looking at the shoe like 'I hope you guys aren't serious. Because I'm not going to wear this shoe…Nobody is going to wear this shoe," said the blog post from the Washington Wizards guard. He said parts of it reminded him of a "ballerina."

Gilbert Arenas with his Adidas shoe.

Adidas executives learned that day what an increasing number of marketers have found -- that pitchmen armed with a blog can be tricky. Blog posts are typically candid and breezy, not the kind of safe, stock answers that athletes are often advised to give in postgame interviews, says David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute in Los Angeles. Blogs "can either help elevate the status of the companies or it can wreak havoc on the brands they work with," he says.

Mr. Arenas is one of several star athletes writing blogs -- or in his case, phoning an National Basketball Association staffer who faithfully transcribes his thoughts for the NBA Web site every 10 days or so. Other sports bloggers include Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and injured NBA rookie Greg Oden.

Several have seen their online comments turn into public-relations debacles. For example, earlier this year Mr. Schilling fueled an outcry when he used his blog to dress down Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne for suggesting that Mr. Schilling's bloody sock in the 2004 playoffs -- which became a symbol of his determination despite a foot injury -- was a fake. (Mr. Thorne backed off the charge.)

In addition, J.D. Durbin, a Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, apologized for making sexually explicit comments on his MySpace page and Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson apologized for posting a picture of a black man with a watermelon on a teammate's page.

The foot-in-mouth epidemic caused the sports blog deadspin.com this spring to plead: "Honestly, athletes: Stop using the Internets. [sic] It can only cause you pain."

Mr. Arenas has made his share of blunders online. He blogged about the scolding he got from NBA officials for making a $10 bet with a fan at a Washington Wizards-Portland Trail Blazers game in March. Soon after, the league removed the post from Mr. Arenas's blog. Mr. Arenas and the league said that he has agreed not to post on topics like gambling on NBA games.

Mr. Arenas has also complimented certain sneaker styles by Nike Inc.
and Starbury, the line endorsed by the New York Knicks' Stephon Marbury -- despite his own endorsement deal with sneaker competitor Adidas.

Mr. Arenas joins the NFL's Vince Young, right, in a Spalding TV spot.

His criticism of Adidas' new signature shoe created an even bigger issue. Adidas, which wasn't ready to talk about the design, wasn't happy with Mr. Arenas's criticism, according to Adidas spokesman Travis Gonzolez. But "we all took a step back. We said, 'It's Gil being Gil and there's not a lot we can say.' We don't want to affect what he writes," says Mr. Gonzolez.

In the end, Adidas says it benefited from Mr. Arenas's commentary. The company reworked the design with Mr. Arenas, who blogged "I think people are going to like the colors, but they're also going to like the shoe." Starting in November, Adidas is releasing 20 different versions of the shoe, which is dubbed the GilIIZero after one of Mr. Arenas's nicknames, "Agent Zero."

Mr. Arenas started blogging last year, one of a handful of NBA players asked by the league to post their musings on its Web site, part of a four-year-old effort to get fans closer to players.

An All-Star player known in basketball circles for his quirky sense of humor, the 25-year-old Mr. Arenas says he initially saw the blog as a way to show fans a "lighter" side of his personality. On March 18, for instance, he blogged about the birth of his son, Alijah Amani Arenas. "We're trying to get him sponsored by AAA now and get his diapers paid for," he blogged.

Other postings dish about everything from him dropping his baby daughter (he says she's OK) to arguments with his girlfriend. Mr. Arenas has also blogged about his salary.

Fans have responded. "Agent Zero: The Blog File" has drawn about three million page views since it started in October 2006, according to the NBA. That makes it the most popular athlete blog on the NBA's Web site, says the NBA. Mr. Arenas is the only one of the group from last year still posting, though he'll be joined this season by new NBA player bloggers -- the Utah Jazz's Morris Almond and the Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng.

The blog has brought Mr. Arenas a heightened profile that has helped him win new endorsement deals. In recent months, Mr. Arenas has extended an existing contract with Adidas, signed a deal to be on the cover of "NBA Live 08" from Electronic Arts Inc.'s
EA Sports, and signed a four-year deal with basketball maker Spalding, a unit of Atlanta-based Russell Corp. Mr. Arenas also endorses Coca-Cola Co.'s
Vitaminwater.

Both Spalding and EA said they decided to work with Mr. Arenas in part because they believed his blog would appeal to younger consumers. As Mr. Arenas puts it, companies think "kids latch onto this guy, so we need him with us," he says. "That's from blogging and the response from kids."

While Mr. Arenas's early posts focused on basketball, he has lately been dropping more references to his marketers. A post about a Spalding promotion, where the winner of an essay contest would win a backboard, rim and balls, was great free advertising for the company, says Spalding vice president of marketing Dan Touhey.

"That's what this consumer that we're all trying to tap into wants. ... They want to hear from the horse's mouth what's going on," Mr. Touhey says. Spalding is featuring Mr. Arenas in a TV, print and online campaign starting Nov. 1. Mr. Arenas has also posted about how excited he was to be on the cover of NBA Live 08.

Still, Adidas's experience with the blog has been bumpy. Aside from the posting about the new shoe design, Mr. Arenas used the blog to alert fans to a forthcoming "golden ticket" promotion with Adidas and EA Sports that would give winners a free shoe. But the promotion never happened. Neither did a collaboration with Adidas and Benihana Inc. that Mr. Arenas featured in his blog.

Adidas's Mr. Gonzolez says that while the golden ticket and Benihana promotions were discussed, no one later informed Mr. Arenas that the ideas were scrapped. Adidas executives eventually asked Mr. Arenas to clear information about coming shoe releases with them before he posts on his blog.

These incidents have given Mr. Arenas's marketing partners pause; they say they realize they can't control what he says and that he might criticize them. Jordan Edelstein, marketing director at EA Sports, says the company debated Mr. Arenas's blogging style before the company chose him for the cover of the game.

"We knew if there was something he didn't like, he would say so -- probably to everyone," Mr. Edelstein says. Ultimately the company decided that Mr. Arenas's honesty was a plus: "That's why his fans respond to him. ... We felt it was worth the risk."

Still, Adidas, EA and Spalding each say that whether an athlete blogs, and how they can work together with the blog, will be a part of future endorsement negotiations.

For his part, Mr. Arenas believes that readers are interested in unfiltered information. "For some reason everyone wants to be this golden boy, like you can't make a mistake," he says. "I don't think my blog would have been successful if I wasn't as real as I am and as willing to let people into my life."

Adidas AG and Benihana Inc. are collaborating on a sneaker for National Basketball Association player Gilbert Arenas. This article incorrectly says the collaboration isn't happening.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B1

Copyright 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra earned $16.2 million in a choppy first year at the helm, a pay package that far outpaces her predecessor’s compensation and exceeds the initial target set by the board when she took the job.

Footnotes*

Real-time U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only; comprehensive U.S. stock quotes reflect trading in all markets and are delayed at least 15 minutes. All quote volume is comprehensive and reflects trading in all markets, delayed at least 15 minutes. International stock quotes are delayed as per exchange requirements.

Journal Community

Hello

Your question to the Journal Community Your comments on articles will show your real name and not a username.Why?

Why use your real name? The Journal Community encourages thoughtful dialogue and meaningful connections between real people. We require the use of your full name to authenticate your identity. The quality of conversations can deteriorate when real identities are not provided.

Please enter your first and last name

First name:

Last name:

Create a Journal Community profile to avoid this message in the future. (As a member you agree to use your real name when participating in the Journal Community)